Financial Advocates Investment Management Sells 2,066 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Financial Advocates Investment Management cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,157 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,066 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,205,000 after buying an additional 427,831 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 73,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,380,000 after acquiring an additional 8,237 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $108,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 5,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.8% during the third quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of MRK opened at $87.97 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $222.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.33 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.